dontopedalogy
n.— «Such a bleak and solitary youth may explain some of the brusqueness which has led to so many years of cherished Prince Philip clangers. He even coined a phrase for his special ability to say the wrong thing: dontopedalogy—the art of opening your mouth and putting your foot in it.» —“The other Royal birthday” by Gillian Glover Scotsman (Glasgow, Scotland) June 9, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The proverb when in Rome, do as the Romans do suggests one should respect local customs and traditions, but also more generally that sometimes it’s better to go along with a group’s consensus than resist and make a fuss. But why in Rome and not in...
Diane, a bridge player from Wilmington, North Carolina, asks about sitting with the bathtub, a phrase her friend uses for a lopsided game where one pair keeps getting the good cards. The phrase appears in newspaper columns about bridge starting in...